Stuart Anderson MP joins bid to save Much Wenlock Olympian Games
Stuart Anderson MP has joined a bid to save Much Wenlock Olympic Games, an annual sports competition that has taken place in the town since 1850. A former resident, Dr William Penny Brookes, pioneered the annual tournament to help to motivate the area’s residents to take part more in sports and physical exercise.
This directly inspired Pierre de Coubertin to set up the International Olympic Committee in 1894. Yet, doubt has been cast on the future of the event. The organising committee, Wenlock Olympian Society, has launched an appeal to raise funds for upgrades to the running track, discus cage and long jump areas. They all require urgent investment, with UK Athletics having given TrackMark registration until September 2024 only. The Society told Stuart that, if funds cannot be raised for the renovations, the event will have to move to Cosford.
Upon hearing about the situation, Stuart wrote to Sports Minister Stephanie Peacock MP, asking for a response to be provided at the earliest possible opportunity. He said securing the future of the event would be a practical way in which the Government can deliver on the national sports strategy, ‘Get Active‘, which was published last August with the aim of getting millions more people active by 2030.
Stuart has called on the government to stick by this plan. Under the last government, over £1.5 billion was distributed to nearly 5,000 grassroots organisations across the UK through Sport England. This helped to increase opportunities for individuals all over the country get active and included £23.2 million in a wide range of grassroots sport projects across the West Midlands.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
“I am keen to champion the health and wellbeing of my constituents. This priority was shared by a former fellow inhabit of the area, Dr William Penny Brookes, who founded the modern Olympiad here in 1850 to inspire residents to take part more in sport and physical exercise. I was concerned to learn about the critical conditions of the facilities in Much Wenlock, with the running track, discus cage, and long jump areas requiring urgent investment. I have called on the government to remain committed to the national sports strategy, ‘Get Active’, which was published last August with aim of getting millions of more people active by 2030. Securing the future of the Olympian Games in Much Wenlock is one practical way in which we can deliver this for my constituents. I hope we can secure enough funds to ensure that the Games can be held in here for future generations.”
